Summer 2013

TigerTurf realizes sports facility in Melbourne

Since the beginning of 2013 the Maribyrnong Sports Academy in Melbourne (Australia) has boasted a new multi-sports facility with a surface area of 20,000 m2. TigerTurf was in charge of the design, building, manufacture and installation of the synthetic grass fields and the surrounding landscape grass. Synthetic grass yarns from TenCate form the basis of the various synthetic grass fields.

Rob Carroll has been director of Maribyrnong Sports Academy since 2006. Before the tender process began, he and his staff travelled throughout Europe and Asia, visiting a range of sports schools and training facilities. ‘And our new facilities are equal to anything we’ve seen in a school setting,’ he says. ‘TigerTurf has helped us to create a superb training environment, and interstate and international visitors are beating a path to our door to view it. The facility provides sports men and women with a “wow” factor, while feedback from our coaches reveals just how professional and inspiring they find this environment.’

Although the facility is predominantly used for physical education classes and by Sports Academy groups, several A League soccer clubs have also trained on the FIFA 1* and 2*-approved football pitch. What’s more, the Australian Football League regularly conducts talented player sessions for the TAC cup pathway for players under 18. Andrew Croxford, project manager at TigerTurf, supervised the building and the installation of the synthetic turf. As TigerTurf was in charge of the design, building, manufacture and installation of the entire sports facility, this meant one point of contact and efficient communication channels.

TigerTurf EVO Pro was selected for hockey, TigerTurf Soccer Real 50 for football, TigerTurf Premier for cricket and TigerTurf Envy for landscape purposes, with TenCate synthetic grass yarns forming the basis of each application. ‘This is a world-class project in anyone’s book,’ says Stephen Stones, Asia Pacific director for TenCate Grass, ‘and the end result is a credit to our TigerTurf team. There aren’t many organizations anywhere in the world, let alone in Australasia, that can design, build, install and manage a project of this scope, but TigerTurf clearly can – meeting all the requirements under one roof. This is a project we are very proud of.’